Donetsk, Mar 31 - DAN. Ukrainian armed formations have fired more than 300 projectiles at the Donetsk People’s Republic territory over the past 24 hours, DPR People’s Militia deputy commander Eduard Basurin said on Thursday.

The enemy used “Uragan” and “Grad” multiple rocket launchers, 152mm and 122mm artillery and 120mm mortars. Seven DPR settlement areas came under fire. Two civilians were killed in the strikes and another 15 have been wounded.  The shelling damaged 54 houses and infrastructure facilities as well as five vehicles, Basurin said.

On Thursday morning, the DPR Office at the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) said that 16 civilians had been wounded in Ukrainian armed formations strikes at a liberated area in Mariupol and that a resident of Alexandrovka in western Donetsk had been wounded in shelling.

The DPR Emergencies Ministry reported on the rescue operation at a multi-storey apartment building in the Tekstilschik neighborhood, which had been badly damaged by artillery shelling. On Wednesday, the rescue operation involved 135 Emergencies Ministry personnel and 47 units of equipment. The rescuers fought the fire, cleared the debris and searched for and retrieved victims with the assistance of dog handlers. They also evacuated tenants of the ruined and nearby houses and provided psychological support to the population.  The rescue operation was suspended yesterday until Thursday morning.

In Mariupol, fighting is ongoing in residential areas, so the casualty statistics might not be accurate. Evacuation of the city population continues. Six hundred and fifteen people were evacuated to the DPR within 24 hours, from 8:00, March 30 to 8:00, March 31.

In the previous 24-hour period, the enemy fired 300 rounds of ammunition at the Republic.*jk